Significance of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene variants in acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Indian population: an experimental, computational and meta-analysis

Abstract

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) arises due to several genetic alterations in progenitor cells, and methotrexate is frequently used as part of the treatment regimen. Although there is evidence for an effect of 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase gene (MTHFR) C677T and A1298C variations on drug response in ALL, its risk association for ALL is still unresolved. In a case–control study of 203 patients with ALL and 246 controls and meta-analysis in the Indian population, we showed an insignificant association of MTHFR C677T and A1298C genotypes with childhood and adult ALL. Comprehensive in silico characterization of non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (nsSNPs) and SNPs of the 3′ untranslated region (UTR) revealed nine nsSNPs as deleterious, and three SNPs in the 3′UTR could possibly alter the binding of miRNAs. The study revealed that several overlooked SNPs may contribute to the risk of ALL susceptibility and further studies of these SNPs with functional characterization in a large sample size are required to understand the significant role of MTHFR in ALL development.

Keywords::

• MTHFR gene polymorphism
• acute lymphoblastic leukemia
• meta-analysis
• Indian population
• in silico analysis

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Department of Biotechnology, Indian Council of Medical Research, Department of Science and Technology, Technology Information Forecasting and Assessment Council–Centre of Relevance and Excellence (TIFAC-CORE) in Pharmacogenomics, Government of India, and Manipal University.

Potential conflict of interest

Disclosure forms provided by the authors are available with the full text of this article at www.informahealthcare.com/lal.

Supplementary material available online

Supplementary Tables showing further results.